The Lost Love
by hubdub15
Summary: When Logan awakes after the events in X-Men: Days of Future Past, he already knows many things have changed after seeing his dead friends alive and well. But what if his own life was changed in a way he couldn't have imagined? Logan/OC pairing
1. Chapter 1

"There is one more thing I must tell you, Logan."

Logan and Professor X had been sitting in his study for hours, discussing what had changed when he stopped Magneto from killing President Nixon and when Mystique disappeared. He knew Jean, Scott, Rogue and Bobby weren't dead. Everything they had done while facing Magneto and Mystique didn't occur. It was peaceful time for mutants.

"You mean besides everyone being alive?" Logan sniped, taking another swig of scotch.

"It's about you."

"What did I do that I need to know?"

Before the Professor could speak, a woman burst into the Professor's office. "Professor, do you know where—" She started, then landed her eyes on Logan and placed her hands on her hips. Logan couldn't help but rake his eyes over her body. Curves in all the right places, nut-brown skin, glistening black hair, and her golden eyes made him speechless. For some reason, he felt drawn to her.

"You know, you need work on being pretend sick, James." She frowned.

"What?" He replied. No one called him James.

"Don't play dumb. You said you had a headache this morning. I told you it was because of the bottle of scotch you drank with Remy last night, who, by the way, you put out of commission today. I have to cover all of his training sessions because he's currently bent over a toilet, and no one has ever seen him this hung over." She told him.

"Eva, could you give us a minute? I'm sure Logan would be happy to help with Remy's classes today." The Professor told her. Eva. Even her name was beautiful.

"You better if you want to sleep in the same bed as me tonight." Eva warned him, narrowing her golden eyes at him before leaving the office.

"What the hell was that?" Logan demanded when Eva had closed the door.

"That, Logan, was your wife." The Professor smiled.

Logan stared at the Professor. He had to be joking. "I'm married." He said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, your wife. She came here fifteen years ago. The timeline also altered her fate. She was supposed to be killed by Magneto. Instead, now that she survived, she came here at my request. You were smitten from the moment you laid eyes on her, though you had to win her over at first. She heard a lot of stories from everyone, and not all of them good. Ten years ago, you were married. Your anniversary is in a week, just to remind you." Professor X told him.

"I don't even know that woman. How could I be married to her?"

"You do know her though. The you from this timeline remembers her. You two are very happy together. I know it's a shock because of Jean, but if you give it time, your memories from this history will come back to you. If not, I could help you."

"Should I go talk to her?" Logan asked.

The Professor nodded. Logan sighed and stood.

"Her name is Eva?"

"Yes."

"And what do I usually do when she's mad at me?"

The Professor laughed. "You usually ask for her forgiveness. And use your charm doing it."

"Charm. Got it." Logan said, walking out of the Professor's office. He walked down the hallway until he caught sight of the beautiful woman through one of the door windows. Eva. He stopped and looked at her, watching her closely as she taught her class. She moved gracefully, gliding around the front of the room as she taught. Her voice was like music to him. And he recognized a smell from the Professor's office when she had entered. It was minty, almost spicy in his nose, mixed with vanilla and some floral scent.

"Ogling your wife again, yeah?" A voice said, clapping him on the shoulder. Logan spun around, meeting Remy LeBeau's eyes.

"You're looking better. Or did you just come to find another toilet?" Logan quipped. Remy laughed, shaking his head. Logan turned back to the window and noticed all the students were turned towards the door, looking at Logan and Remy. Eva was giving them a look. She managed to get the students' attention again.

"She doesn't look happy with you. Oh, I'm feelin' queasy again. See you later." Remy said, heading back towards the staircase.

Logan leaned up against the wall, out of sight of the door. After a few minutes, the door softly opened and closed. Logan looked over and saw Eva staring at him. Damn, those eyes.

"Do you need something?" Eva asked. He sensed a clip in her tone. He didn't know what possessed him, but he pulled her to him and began to kiss her. At first she pushed at him, but Logan wouldn't let go. His possessed feeling left after two seconds, but he couldn't bring himself to stop kissing her. Her lips were like honey. He could feel something radiating from his chest. Something he felt for Jean. But this was stronger than that. He could sense the same feeling coming from Eva. For him. Even though he still thought of her as a stranger, he knew why him from this universe spent time trying to win this woman over. Only if it were just for this feeling. This feeling of having her in his arms. She fit perfectly.

After her futile attempts to free herself the first few seconds, he felt Eva give in to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and their lips began moving in sync. Logan broke off the kiss for air, drinking in her scent as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Damn you, James." She whispered breathlessly. He looked at her and saw she was smiling. "Why do you always do that? You know I can't stay mad when you do something like that."

"Because it works." He said automatically.

She laughed slightly and pulled away. "I have to get back in there. You know Tommy's probably already started a riot. You should get back to your classes too. Even though you only have one left now." The bell rang as she spoke. She pecked him on the cheek, reaching up on her toes to do so before going back into her classroom. He heard her voice over the clamor, telling her students what their homework was. Students flooded the hallways, some said hi to him, and some asked about homework for tonight. He didn't know what to say, so he just said there was none. One student high-fived another when he overheard Logan say no homework.

"Come, Logan." Professor X said, appearing out of nowhere and gliding easily through the students. Logan followed him all the way down the hallway to the last door on the left. "Your classroom. Goodbye, Logan." Professor X glided back down the hallway, making the students part like the Red Sea as he made his way back to his office. Logan stared after him until a student who was walking into his classroom asked "You okay, Mr. Logan?" Logan snapped out of his trance and nodded, ushering the kid into the room. He made his way over to his desk and sat down, looking at what was on his desk. A small zen garden sat near a stack of books near the corner of his desk. He smiled slightly. Some things were the same.

On the other side of his desk, a stack of papers sat in a plastic tray. Probably homework assignments or tests the students' turned in while he was in the Professor's office this morning. Students were still placing papers in the stack as they came into the room and took their seats. He wasn't looking forward to getting into those. He noticed two picture frames sitting near the tray. Taking a closer look, he realized one of them was him getting married. Eva and Logan stood on the steps of what looked like a church, smiling towards the camera. Logan was holding Eva in his arms, a bright smile on his face. An equally bright smile was on Eva's face. He looked to the other picture, another one of him and Eva. It looked like they took the picture themselves instead of someone getting them to do it for them. The Washington Monument and reflection pool sat in the background. Eva had both arms around Logan and he had one arm wrapped around her, pulling her close for the picture. Again, Logan had a wide smile, and Eva seemed to be laughing. They looked happy. Maybe Professor X was right. Logan only hoped whatever deep feeling he had for Eva would come back with time. He could feel something starting, but he wasn't sure if it was love or not. Feeling love now would be too fast. No one could feel something that fast.

The bell rang, and Logan looked at the papers in the center of his desk. An attendance list.

"Okay, quiet down." He called over the noisy class. He began calling out the last names on the list, marking if they were there or not.

"So where's Daniels and Rodriguez?" He asked, tossing the list and pencil back on his desk. He made a point of seeing who responded to the names he called out, trying to put names to faces.

"Ms. Vasquez held Tommy after class. When she was out of the room talking to you he went up to the front of the room and started drawing on the blackboard instead of doing his work." A girl called from the back. He looked at her. Scott. That was her last name. And Vasquez had to be Eva's.

"And Rodriguez?"

"Dr. McCoy's looking at him in the infirmary. He took a nasty hit in the Danger Room this morning during training. They think he broke a few ribs."

"He'll be fine. So do any of you know what the other classes did when I was gone?" Logan asked.

"I think they watched a movie." Another kid piped up. Logan looked at him. Harris.

"Well, that's what we're going to do then." Logan saw a DVD on his desk and took it, found a remote for the projector, turned it on, and popped the DVD in the player. He saw a retractable white screen and pulled that down too. The DVD started automatically, so he propped his feet up on his desk and grabbed the stack of papers from the plastic tray and a pen. Better start grading them now.

Later that night, Logan made his way back up to his bedroom, rubbing the back of his neck. He spent a few hours in his classroom after school was done for the day, getting all of his papers graded. He didn't want to go back to see them sitting there. He opened the door and was met with the sight of Eva standing in front of the dresser in her underwear. His eyes widened as he looked at her. She looked over when she heard the door open.

"Close the door before you start admiring the view." She told him, smiling slyly. Logan did as she said, closing the door behind him as he sat down on the bed, trying to avoid looking at her. He barely knew her. Well, he was supposed to be married to her for ten years. In reality he barely knew her. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, climbing up behind him on the bed and sitting behind him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"You wouldn't believe what Tommy did today. I swear that child had no discipline before he came here. Now he doesn't know how to react to it." She told him, placing little kisses all over his back. They burned through his shirt, searing his skin. He clenched his jaw, trying to control himself. He didn't want to take advantage of her.

"So, why were you so late?" She asked, continuing her kisses, moving up to his neck. Her scent was intoxicating. Some of her hair spilled over his shoulder as she kissed his neck. He turned his head slightly to inhale her scent, relishing in bliss. She stopped her barrage and he growled slightly. Right. Her question.

"Grading papers." He told her.

"Bet you're regretting giving that pop quiz now, huh?" She chuckled. He nodded, turning his head to meet her eyes. They made him melt. That feeling in his chest came back again. That couldn't be a coincidence. She smiled at him and he cracked some more. What was this?

"Come on. We're on supervision duty with Storm and Hank tonight." She told him, unwrapping her legs from around him. He instinctively reached out and pulled her back on top of him when she got up. Why did he do that? She rolled her eyes, giving him a deep kiss before standing back up and pulling him with her.

"Why are we on supervision duty?" He asked her as they walked out of the room and down the hallway.

"Scott forgot he was on a mission tonight, and Kurt had to back out because the jet is having technical difficulties." She told him, reaching out for his hand and lacing her fingers through his absentmindedly.

"Bastard." Logan grumbled.

"I agree. How do you forget you're on a mission?" She frowned. "Anyway, he took our shifts for the next month."

"That's good." He nodded. Their conversation down to the cafeteria felt natural, none of it was forced. It was hard to hold the conversation on Logan's part. It was hard to keep focus when she was so beautiful. The same thing happened in the cafeteria. Beast tried to start a conversation about one of their students, but Logan kept staring at Eva as she spoke with Storm, making it hard for him hold the conversation once it had begun.

After dinner was done and they had gone back to their room, Eva went into the bathroom to shower, leaving the bathroom door open as Logan laid on the bed.

"What do you think we should do next week?" Eva called from the shower. Logan racked his brain. Next week. Anniversary. Right.

"Whatever you want." He told her.

"You always say that." She laughed. "What would you if I said we should just stay here?"

"I'll think of something. Let me plan it." Logan needed to talk to Professor X about their first date.

"That's a first. You really don't want to stay home?" She asked him.

"I'm sure. Let me sweep you off our feet." Logan smiled slightly, though she couldn't see it.

"Alright, Casanova. I'll leave it in your hands." She replied, coming out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, using another one to dry her hair as she stood in front of him. "I just remembered something. And I want you to promise me you won't get mad."

Logan looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to continue.

"Say it, James." She frowned.

"Fine. I promise I won't get mad." He told her.

"I have to go pick up another recruit with Scott and Storm next week on the same day of the concert." She told him, going back into the bathroom and emerging a few seconds later stark naked.

Logan swallowed hard, trying to concentrate as she walked around the room getting dressed.

"You seem to be taking this pretty well." She told him, pulling on her last article of clothing and sitting down next to him. "In my defense, the professor just sprung this on me today before you woke up." She began playing with a few tendrils of hair, tugging on them slightly as she brushed them behind his ear. Her other hand rested on his thigh.

"You shouldn't tell him no just because we had something planned. If he asked you, then it must be for a reason." He struggled out, almost losing his self-control.

"He said I would help persuade them to come. To calm them down enough to agree to at least visit." She sighed, running a hand through his hair. He finally turned to look at her and she smiled. "Maybe you could ask Hank to go with you." She smirked.

"Yeah, because he would want to go to a Metallica tribute concert." He said automatically. Where did that come from? Maybe it was what the Professor was talking about. Memories coming back from this life. He remembered now. He bought them tickets to the concert as a pre-anniversary present.

"Yeah, he is kind of a stiff." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Maybe you could sell it."

"I wouldn't go without you." He told her.

"You shouldn't wait for me here, either. I don't know how long we'll be gone. All I know is that I'll be back before our anniversary." She responded, kissing him. "I need to sleep. I've got an early training session with some of the kids." She went to other side of the bed, getting under the covers and turning to face the wall.

Logan watched her for a minute then joined her after removing his shirt and jeans, leaving his boxers on. He debated pulling her to him and spooning. Was that a thing they did? Or did she like her space when they slept? He decided from when she was wrapped around him and kissing his neck that spooning was probably a safe bet as something to do. He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She turned around to face him, snuggling into his chest. She was still awake. Logan kissed the top of her head, but continued down her hairline until he tilted her chin up to kiss her on the lips. She smiled under the kiss, opening her eyes to meet his.

"With you acting like this, I won't be able to sleep." She murmured to him. He answered with another kiss. It was as if something possessed him. This just felt right. Maybe it was more of his memories? Logan didn't want to fight it. He wanted to be as close to her as possible. If this is how he felt when he first met her, he could understand why he spent all that time trying to win her over just to marry her.

She moved quickly, turning Logan onto his back and climbing on top of him, straddling him as they began to kiss more intensely. Logan felt Eva tangle her fingers in his hair as his hands roamed up and down her body, trying to commit it to memory, or bring up memories. He willed his memories to reveal themselves, but nothing came up. His life in this universe was still mostly blank. He stilled his hands on her hips and sat up quickly, pulling her flush against him as he held the back of her head with his hand, tilting her head so he had full access to her neck. He kissed along her jaw and moved down her neck, finally kissing in a hollow space between her shoulder muscle and collarbone. She moaned slightly, grabbing the back of his head and crashing his lips to hers. They began to move in sync, kissing and grinding against each other until Eva's hands moved down to remove Logan's boxers. Logan finally snapped out of his trance and grabbed her hands. They were both breathing heavily as Eva looked at Logan with heavily-lidded eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked breathlessly, kissing him again. Logan didn't remove his grip, moving her hands up to his bare chest to rest there. He kissed her softly, resting his forehead against hers, trying to calm himself down. His animalistic nature told him to keep going, but he fought it, a rare occurrence.

"Not tonight." He whispered to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. "You need to get some rest for tomorrow." He laid back on the bed with Eva on top of him, keeping his arms around her. She sighed, kissing him once on the chest before closing her eyes and going to sleep. He stared up at the ceiling, fully awake and unable to go asleep. He only had Eva on his mind. It wasn't like him to stop himself from having his way with a woman, but he knew he would feel bad about it in the morning. He was her husband, but he barely knew her. Logan felt she deserved better than that. He needed to make sure what they had was love, and that he didn't feel the same way about Jean. That part was already beginning to make itself known. Everything he felt for Jean couldn't hold a match to what he already felt for Eva. He looked back down at his sleeping wife and planted a soft kiss on her head before falling asleep himself. Maybe tomorrow would be easier.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N—Finally! Thank you for taking the time to read this! This was 23 pages in Microsoft word, so sorry for it being so long. A little bit of filler, but there's some plot to it too. As always, review, follow, the works. Also, I apologize for it taking so long. **

Logan had fallen into a routine a few days later. He woke up, taught for the whole day, helped in the Danger Room when any of his students or the other X-Men would ask him. He was still trying to get to know Eva, but it was hard.

They had known each other for fifteen years, so they didn't talk about little things about themselves. She knew everything about him, and he was supposed to know everything about her. Hell, they were married. He tried to spend as much time with her as possible, trying to learn everything about her he could. All he knew was the attraction he had for her, and how his longing for Jean faded into the background. He forgot about it. Was this what it was like when he met her? That he forgot about Jean almost instantly the moment Eva walked through the doors of the mansion?

He learned that Eva hated Jean. Whenever Logan would mention something Jean said, Eva would make a face, like she was thinking about killing her. Logan learned to steer away from any subject that involved Jean. Something had to have happened between them.

"You sure you're fine with this?" Eva asked, breaking Logan out of his trance. He looked towards her.

She was suiting up, a worried look on her face as she watched Logan. They were sitting in the docking bay, waiting for everyone else that was going to pick up the new mutant. Logan was sitting on one of the benches, watching Eva as she got ready. She pulled the top part of her suit on, shrugging into it and adjusting it slightly.

"It's not like you can back out now." He told her. She frowned. "I promise, I'm fine. I'll work in the garage tonight."

"You mean your cave?" She teased, zipping her suit and walking over to him and sitting on his lap. She gave him a quick kiss and looked at him. "I promised you I would never read your mind, but I'm really tempted now. Something's just seemed wrong the past several days. Are you sure you're alright?" She asked him, bringing her hand up to his face.

Logan nodded and gave her a kiss, hoping that would distract her enough to get off the topic.

She pushed him away gently, giving him a look.

"You know, you can't kiss your way out of everything." She told him.

"I've done a lot more than kiss to get out of things." He responded.

"Don't I know it." She smiled seductively, kissing him deeply. Logan growled slightly when she pulled away and stood up. He had to keep reminding himself not to go too far with her again. He knew if they did, he wouldn't be able to stop. She had pulled her hair back into a French braid, accentuating her cheekbones. She looked stunning. Then again, that's what Logan thought every time he looked at her.

"Stay safe." Logan said automatically. He really did mean it. What he felt for Eva had grown every day they spent together. Flashes of his memory had come back the more time they spent together; Eva in a white dress, them on a beach somewhere, watching Eva train students, them in bed together…Logan pushed that thought away and took a deep breath to calm himself. He turned his attention back to Eva.

"I promise. Don't do anything too fun while I'm gone." She joked as Scott and Storm came into the room, already suited up. Rogue followed close behind, smiling at Logan as she made her way into the jet after Storm. Eva followed Storm while Scott went to one of the control panels to open the docking bay doors and prep the jet for departure. Logan stood and went over to him, standing by his shoulder.

"If anything happens to Eva on your watch, I will kill you." Logan threatened.

"Not the first time you've said that. Also, I'd like to see you try." Scott responded, turning to look at him with his brow furrowed. Before Logan could go any further, they heard a knock on the window of the cockpit. Looking up, Logan saw Storm motioning for Scott to board. Logan and Scott shared one last glare before Scott entered the last command in the control panel and climbed aboard. Logan stood for a while after the jet had left before going down to the garage to work on his motorcycles. He turned on the radio and cranked up the volume to drown everything out, including his thoughts.

A few hours later, he heard a commotion outside of the garage door. Wiping his hands on an oil cloth to go see what was going on, Rogue burst into the room with a terrified look on her face.

"Mutant…stronger than we thought. Eva…" She gasped, trying to catch her breath. Logan's eyes darted to her glove-covered hands. They were soaked with blood.

Logan pushed past her, running at full speed down to the medical bay. He crashed through the door, breaking it off of its hinges as he scanned the room wildly. His eyes landed on Scott last. Rage clouded his vision, his claws coming out as he rushed at Scott, pinning him to the wall with his claws at Scott's throat.

"I'll kill you!" Logan roared, pressing his claws harder into Scott's throat.

"_Logan._" He heard a voice in his mind say, trying to calm him down.

"Get out of my head." He growled at the Professor, whipping his head around and glaring at him.

"James. Don't." He heard a weak voice say. His head whipped around again to the operating table. His eyes widened as he saw Eva clutching her side as Jean and Beast tried to figure out what exactly was wrong. He let go of Scott and sheathed his claws as he rushed over to Eva and grabbed one of her hands.

"What happened?" He demanded, looking over her.

"The girl got scared, she threw me against a statue, and it broke some bones—" She started, then cried out in pain. "Hank, it's going into my lung!" She yelled.

"I'm doing the best I can! Your healing abilities aren't really helping right now!" He yelled back. "Jean, get the high-grade morphine." Jean rushed over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a syringe. "Logan, hold her down."

"No no no, no needles." Eva protested, beginning to roll to get off the table. Logan grabbed a hold of her shoulders to keep her from moving. Logan watched helplessly as they all moved around her, trying to set her up for a quick surgery. All he could do was try to calm Eva down, stroking her hair and whispering words of somewhat-encouragement until Eva yelled at him to be quiet.

"Scott, hold her legs." Beast ordered. When Scott got close, Eva put a well-placed kick in his gut and Logan grinned despite everything that was happening. He groaned and held her left leg down. Her other leg wasn't moving.

"Charles, if you could calm her down, that would be wonderful." Beast said, gritting his teeth. "We need to set the bones properly before they heal incorrectly."

"Stay out of my head." Eva growled, turning her head to glare at the Professor. While Eva was distracted putting up a block to keep the Professor out of her head, Jean grabbed her arm and injected the morphine into her vein. Eva groaned and let out a string of curse words directed at everyone in the room.

"Set up a drip and sedate her." Beast ordered as Storm and Rogue entered the room.

"Rogue, hold her arm down. Jean needs to get an IV in. And keep it held down. Storm, go make sure the girl is alright." Professor X told them. Storm nodded and left the room while Rogue moved to Eva's left arm to hold it down.

"The girl that did this is here?" Logan demanded.

"She's just a little kid, Logan." Rogue told him.

"She did this!" He yelled.

"She was scared; she didn't mean to do this." Eva managed out. Her breathing was beginning to get more labored. Logan turned his attention back to her as she struggled to get a good breath. "It's in my lung, Hank." She told Beast.

"I'm working as fast as I can. If you stopped resisting this would be a lot easier." He growled at her.

"You try being awake when people are about to operate on you!" She yelled back. Suddenly her body went slack and her eyes glazed over. Logan looked to Professor X, who had two fingers on his temple and a concentrated look on her face. He was in her head.

Rogue held Eva's arm down as Jean put the IV in and injected something into it. The sedative. Eva's eyes closed and Professor X removed his fingers from his temple.

"Everyone out. We've got it from here." Beast said.

"The bone healed improperly in her leg." Jean murmured.

"We'll have to re-break it." Beast replied. Logan stared down into Eva's face, refusing to move. He wanted to make sure she was going to be okay.

"Logan, come on. We need to go." Rogue told him, putting a hand on his arm.

"I'm not leaving." He growled.

"You can't help any more. They'll have her fixed in no time."

Logan stared down at Eva one more time before striding from the room. He gave Scott a glare as he passed. At least the bastard had the decency to look guilty. He went back the garage, pacing around like a caged animal. He wanted to be in the room with Eva, to know they were fixing her. And what was that about her having a healing ability? Was it like his? Was she as old as he was?

He spun around when he heard the door open. Professor X levitated his chair down the stairs and wheeled over to Logan. "Eva will be fine, I assure you. She's in good hands."

"What are Eva's powers?" Logan demanded.

"She's a telepath, like I am. A very powerful one at that. More powerful than Jean. It's the reason I asked her to come. She was becoming so powerful as time went on that she was becoming a danger to herself. She can do everything that I can do. She has the same healing abilities as you. Though she does have one unique ability that I do not have."

Logan stared, waiting for him to continue. Professor X sighed before continuing.

"She can manipulate a person's body physically. Make the body attack itself. Break bones, make their heart stop, destroy their brain, make them experience excruciating pain as their own cells attack their body. She's ashamed of her power. That the first to manifest. In Mexico, soldiers came for her parents, thinking they were rebels during the Revolution. When her parents refused to cooperate, they were killed. They dragged the rest of the family out of the house and shot every member of her family until they finally got to her. They tried to take her back to their camp, but Eva killed both of them. After that, Eva has never used her power unless her own life was in danger. She found out about her telepathy and her healing abilities not long after. She can also make a person think their experiencing excruciating pain, though they're not harmed physically. I asked her to try it on me once, but she refused." Professor X explained.

"Do I know this?" Logan asked, referring to his new self.

Professor X nodded. "It's one of the reasons she refused you for so long. She was afraid of losing control and hurting you. Only when she knew she had a full handle on her abilities did she agree."

"Was I really that adamant about dating her?"

"You were, Logan. Everyone thought you fell in love the moment you laid eyes on her the day she came to the mansion. You vowed you would do anything to 'make her yours' as you put it."

"Just doesn't seem like me." Logan admitted.

"Love does some strange things to people." Professor X told him. "Have any of your memories come back?"

"Some. Most of them are just flashes of things."

"Anything with Eva?"

"Some of them."

"And how do you feel when you remember those memories?"

"I really don't want you to play shrink right now, Professor." Logan told him, picking up a wrench and going over to one of his bikes to work. Professor X got the message and left the garage.

Logan flinched slightly whenever he heard one of her bones break. Eventually he turned on his radio and increased the volume to decibel breaking. No one bothered Logan for another few hours until Jean came.

"She's resting now. There was some damage to her internal organs, but nothing her healing can't fix within a few hours." She told Logan. He didn't even bother turning around to look at her before setting his tools down to see Eva. He followed her scent down to the medical bay. The door was sitting pathetically outside. Logan would fix that later.

"Think you can spring me so I can go back to my own bed?" Eva asked Logan when he stepped into the room. She tossed the book she was skimming through on the counter to her right, knocking over a jar of wooden sticks. "Oops."

"I've got it." Logan said, propping the jar back up before pulling a chair over to sit by her. "How you feeling?"

"Like shit. Hank had to re-break my leg and some of my ribs. Plus one rib went into my lung while another other decided to take a joy-ride in my liver." She smiled.

Logan smiled with her. "So what did Hank say?"

"I'll be fine in a few hours. He just wants to keep me in here just in case. I'm supposed to call him if I feel any 'rushing fluids'." She said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be fine in less than an hour and he knows that. It's not every day that we get hurt enough to need surgery. I think he likes having me around so he can run tests."

"I could bust you out, if you wanted." Logan offered.

"Great idea. Get this IV off of me." She said, sticking her left arm towards him. He smiled and took all the coverings off, obviously to keep her from ripping it out, and pulled the needle out. There was a small squirt of blood before it immediately healed.

Logan stood after they had gotten the IV out. "Come on, let's go."

"But I'm so weak and fragile. I just got out of surgery. I need someone to carry me." Eva said, batting her eyelashes at Logan. It was his turn to roll his eyes as he picked her up bridal style and carried her from the room.

"What are you two doing?" Rogue asked as they met her in one of the hallways.

"I forgot something in our room and I need to go get it." Eva told her.

"Don't look like you're as bad off as Rogue said." Remy stated, coming up behind Rogue and putting an arm around her.

"She exaggerates." Logan said.

"I do not!" Rogue protested.

"It's a mutant thing, you wouldn't understand. Let's go." Eva said, patting Logan on the chest to get him to keep moving.

"Where's your IV?!" Rogue called after them.

"Keep it down, would you?!" Eva called back. Logan hurried up the stairs and rushed into their bedroom, setting Eva down on the bed and locking the door behind them.

"Hank's gonna blow a gasket." Eva giggled. Logan smiled. He liked that sound.

"Jean's not going to be too happy either." Logan told her, picking Eva up and setting her in his lap on the bed.

"There's the difference. I feel bad when I make Hank upset. When I make Jean upset, I really don't care. I actually enjoy it." She smiled. "She needs to get her nose out of the clouds every once and a while." Eva sighed and leaned back into Logan, closing her eyes.

"You're not going to let me move?" Logan asked her. Eva shook her head and smiled, still keeping her eyes closed.

"I'll be fine in a few hours. I'll get off you then." She yawned, falling asleep moments after.

Logan remained perfectly still as Eva slept. The Professor had said the Mexican Revolution. She had to have been alive before it began. The Professor made it seem like she wasn't that old, if she was still living with her parents, so Logan had to be older than her.

Logan kept perusing his thoughts until Eva finally began to stir hours later when the sun was just beginning to peek out over the horizon, turning the sky pink. She stretched like a cat and sat up, looking down at Logan.

"Good morning." She smiled, getting up and going over to the dresser. "You want to come and train with me?"

"I think I'll stay here and sleep a bit." He told her.

"You didn't sleep at all?" She asked, pulling a tank top over her head after removing her baggy t-shirt.

"No. Just wasn't tired."

"Well, it might help you calm down for today." Eva suggested.

"What's today?" Logan asked.

"The field trip to the Natural History museum. I know how you get stressed when you try to keep the kids together." She said, smiling over her shoulder at him.

"At least I'll have you to calm me down."

"Such a charmer."

"I try."

Eva rolled her eyes and pecked him on the lips. "Well, I'm going to go train then help make breakfast. See you later." With that, she left the room. Logan rubbed his face with his hands, wondering where all of these things he was saying were coming from. It was like he didn't have any control. They just came out. Maybe it was things he would have said to her after knowing her for fifteen years. It seemed too domestic. Logan sighed and stood, pulling on a jacket and lighting one of his cigars before heading outside to get some fresh air. It wasn't long before he heard the kids moving around, getting ready for the day. Logan went back inside and followed the smell of food into the kitchen. Eva automatically handed him a plate as he walked in before going back to cooking.

"Your thoughts are pretty hard to ignore when you're hungry." She told him as he gave her a funny look. Logan shrugged and sat down with the other X-Men.

"Looks like you're back to one-hundred percent, Eva." Professor X said as he wheeled into the room.

"Never felt better." She told him, handing him a plate as well.

"You didn't do what I told you." Beast said, coming into the room and glaring at her.

"I was fine, you were being paranoid. Also, that's what you get for sticking me with needles." She responded, meeting his glare. Beast huffed and left the room. Eva shook her head and dished up everything, using her powers to set it on a long table for the kids to grab. They all started to shuffle in and grab food. Eva plopped down next to Logan with a plate of food and began eating with everyone else. She was a good cook.

"Eva, dear, if you would." Professor X said when all the children were in the room. She nodded and went to the front of the room.

"Okay, field trip today. You all know the rules. Follow them. No powers. Stay with your group, all of that good stuff. Car groups are posted in the garage, if you've got a problem with them, it's not forever. Break any of the rules and you'll spend the rest day with Professor Logan and Professor Rasputin and another week in detention. Understood?" A resounding 'Yes' answered her. She nodded and sat back down.

"Well put." Logan told her.

"I've learned a lot about using tough love from you." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm staying to watch Lyla." Jean announced to the table.

"Lyla?" Logan asked.

"The girl we picked up last night. Someone needs to stay with her. She's still scared. I think you should talk with her." Jean said, directing her statement towards Eva.

"Why me?" Eva frowned.

"You were the one she hurt. And I think she's worried."

"Has she not spoken since you retrieved her?" Professor X asked.

"No. She's been silent, even with the other kids." Jean sighed.

"I'll stay with you today, Jean. Perhaps we can get her to speak." Professor X offered. Jean nodded and went back to her food.

"Do these eggs taste funny to you all?" Jean frowned after taking a bite.

"Huzzah! After fifteen years, my poison is finally working." Eva joked. Jean gave her a look while everyone else shook their heads.

"Guess it's just me then. I'm going to the garage to get everything set up for today." Jean announced, standing.

"Already done. Eva asked me to arrange everything last night." Colossus told her. Jean nodded but still left.

"She's going to check your work." Eva told Colossus.

"Of course she is." He sighed.

An hour later, everyone was standing outside the garage, waiting to get into the cars. Eva strode out in a leather jacket, a pair of aviators, skinny jeans and boots that made her legs look even longer than they already were. Logan's jaw almost dropped. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Eva brushed some of her hair back with her fingers before going into the garage and grabbing a set of keys off one of the many hooks.

"Alright, everyone in my group, get in the Sprinter." Eva called out. About twenty kids walked towards a small bus and climbed in. Eva strode over to Logan.

"You want to ride with me?" She asked, taking a hold of his hands. "I've got one seat in the front with your name on it."

"I thought I was driving some of them." He told her. He glanced quickly at the sheet when they all went to the garage, and he was signed up with four other kids.

"Oh, right." She frowned, but gave him a kiss. "See you there, then. Take the Jeep." She told him before walking to the bus and climbing in the driver's seat. "I can take one more!" She yelled out the window. Rogue immediately went to bus and got in on the passenger's side.

Logan went to the key rack and found the only pair of keys for a Jeep. He pressed the lock button and the lights of a Jeep Wrangler flashed at him. He grinned and went over to the car, climbing up into the front seat. He adjusted the mirrors before pulling on his sunglasses and driving out of the garage, honking the horn for the kids to get in. Four kids from his class piled in. He was glad he knew their names. Well, at least their last names.

Once everyone was piled in to their respective cars, Eva led the caravan out of the estate.

"So, Professor Logan, are you and Professor Vasquez going to have any kids?" One of the kids, Marcus, asked from the back seat. Logan was drinking from a water bottle and almost spat out the water in his mouth. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Well, we've been married for almost ten years, pretty sure if we wanted kids we would have them by now."

"Or you guys are just really good at using contraceptives." The girl sitting next to Marcus joked. Her name was Ashley. Logan suddenly remembered that these kids in the car with him were his favorites. Marcus, Ashley, Tyler, and Jessica. Tyler was up front while the other three were squished together in the back.

Logan shot Ashley a look in the rearview mirror before turning back to the road.

"Do you want them?" Tyler asked.

"Want what?"

"Kids."

"Sure, I guess. Eva and I haven't really talked about them in a while."

"But you have talked about them." Jessica said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, we have. Let's move on to a different subject." He announced.

They all parked together before heading in once they had arrived at the museum, doing a headcount to make sure all the kids were there and they hadn't forgotten one at the mansion. Logan walked up to Eva and put his arm around her as they walked in. He liked being close to her. Maybe this would give them time to talk, time for him to learn more about their life together.

Eva reached up and grabbed his hand, leaning into him slightly as they walked in. They all gathered in an empty corner before Eva gave them their instructions.

"Alright, older kids, you can explore the museum. Don't cause any trouble. Check in with us every once and a while so we know nothing's happened. And we have to see you in person, no telepathy. Younger kids, you're going with Ms. Monroe and she'll give you the tour. Stay together." She ordered.

All the kids nodded, older kids going to explore and the younger kids gathering around Storm.

Eva looked to Colossus. "Could you keep an eye on the older kids?" She asked him. He nodded and left to follow them. Rogue and Remy wandered off to explore the museum for themselves.

"Are we staying with the younger kids?" Logan asked Eva.

She looked up at him and shrugged. "You don't have to. I'm staying to keep an eye on them."

"What, so you can keep an eye on me?" He smirked.

"No, the kids behave better when you're around. I think their afraid of you. It doesn't matter to me." She shrugged, trying to play it off.

Logan stared at her until she looked up at him again.

"Fine. I want my husband to stay with me and be completely bored with history. Is that too much to ask?" She told him.

Logan smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her gently. "Whatever you want." He responded.

"So, we're going to start now, if you two want to join us." Storm broke in, giving them a look. Logan let go but still kept an arm around Eva's waist as they followed the little group.

"Do you remember when we first came here together?" Eva asked Logan as Storm was giving the kids some information on sea creatures.

"Remind me." Logan said expertly. Nice choice. She would talk about them.

"We were on a field trip like this one. I was terrified of losing one of the kids because it was my first time going on an outing with them. You talked me through the entire day, trying to keep me calm. Storm told me later that was the most you've spoken in several weeks. That was the day we finally agreed there was something between us. Well, I agreed. You were head over heels the moment you saw me." She teased.

"That might be a bit of an exaggeration."

"You were looking at me like a piece of meat."

Logan's face went blank as a memory overtook him.

"_When's the Professor going to be back?" Logan demanded as he walked into the front hall. _

"_He and Scott called to say they'd be here in less than an hour." Jean announced, leaning against the bannister. Almost the entire team was assembled in the front hall, waiting for Professor X and Scott to come back from their trip. It was almost midnight; all of the children were in bed, except for one in the living room watching television. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to. Streams of moonlight flooded through the windows high on the walls, casting their light on the waiting X-men. _

"_What's so special about this woman?" Remy asked, striding into the room. _

"_Apparently she's very powerful. A danger." Jean told them._

"_Then why is she coming here?" Colossus frowned. _

"_The Professor wants her to come and learn how to control her powers. She barely uses them, so whenever she does, something bad happens." _

"_Is she afraid?" Storm questioned. _

"_I guess so. She's lived alone for decades. It may take some time for her to adjust to us." Jean responded._

"_How do you know all this?" Logan asked. _

"_Professor X told me so I could tell you all." Jean said. _

_They heard a car pull up to the front door and stop, the engine shutting off and three doors opening and closing. All of them got into slightly defensive positions. The front door opened quietly as Professor X wheeled into the room with Scott. Professor X smiled slightly at them before turning around and looking out the open door. "Come in, my dear. It's alright." _

_A woman stepped through the door, and Logan's heart stopped. _

_Her jet black hair shone when it hit the moonlight as she entered the room. Her olive skin seemed to glow as she looked around the room, finally spearing Logan with her amber gaze. Her high cheekbones, pointed chin and full Cupid's bow lips gave her a regal look. Logan's eyes traveled down her slender hourglass figure, resting on her mile-long legs. He moved back on her face, her eyes now narrowed at him. She had noticed Logan checking her out. Logan couldn't help it. He felt immediately drawn to her. He wanted to get to know her. Love her. Marry her. _

_Where the hell did that come from? Logan tried to shake that last thought, but it screamed inside his head. He wanted to make her his. _

"James? James, are you alright?" Eva said worriedly, snapping him out of his memory. She had her hands on either side of his face, trying to bring him back to the land of the living.

His eyes met hers and he smiled slightly, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine." He told her. She smiled at him and removed her hands from his face, taking one of his hands and lacing her fingers through his.

"For a second I thought I'd lost you." She said as the group moved. They trailed behind them.

"Just remembering." He responded, doing a head count of the rugrats when they came to a stop in some dinosaur section.

"Jacob's missing." Eva said suddenly, looking around the room. Logan searched too, but couldn't see the child.

"I don't see him." Logan told her, but Eva seemed to be off in her own world now. "Eva?" He asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

She came back to the world of the living and frowned. "He's still in the room. I can feel his mind." She said, looking up and freezing. Logan followed her line of sight to a pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling. With a small boy hanging on its beak.

Luckily, no one in the room had noticed yet besides the mutant chaperones.

"Storm." Eva said quickly, getting her attention and nodding towards the dinosaur above their heads. Storm looked and saw Jacob hanging there like a monkey. Jacob looked down and saw his chaperones staring at him. Eva lifted one finger and motioned for him to come down. A mournful look crossed Jacob's face as he disappeared and reappeared next to Eva.

"What did I say?" She asked him.

"No powers." He mumbled.

"Right. Go up near Ms. Monroe, and you stay there. You know the rules. You break them again, you're going to spend time with Professor Logan. Got it?" She said. Jacob nodded. Eva turned him around and pushed him gently towards Storm, who was waiting with crossed arms.

Logan saw another kid beginning to wander about an hour later. "Hey." He called. The kid immediately turned around to look at Logan, walking back and standing by him.

After the trip was finally over a few hours later, Logan and Eva had over ten kids surrounding them for breaking the rules, some of the teenagers included.

"Thank goodness. Someone find Rogue and Remy." Eva sighed when the day was over.

"Who knew so many kids could get into trouble."

"At least we kept track of all of them." Eva smiled as they all walked back to the cars.

When they got back to the mansion, Eva and Logan went straight up to their room and lied in each other's arms on the bed.

"Do you ever think about kids?" She asked suddenly, breaking their silence.

"Well, we have to teach them every day." He responded, tightening his grip around her as her arm moved to rest on his chest, her fingers tracing fiery patterns as she moved them absent-mindedly.

"I'm not talking about those kinds of kids. I'm talking about children." She said, looking up and piercing him with her golden stare.

"What about them?" He asked, swallowing hard. The process of making children with her sprung to his mind, but he pushed it aside before his body could respond to his thoughts.

"What do you think about them?" She asked, moving to lay down on his chest. Damn, she was so _light_. Had she stopped eating again? Wait. Another memory.

"Is it possible? For us?" He responded, wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't see why not. We're both in mint condition. And your performance is more than satisfactory." She told him, giving him a small smile.

"I can say the same for you." He had some of…those memories that told him all about her performance.

She slid farther up his chest, bending her head down to press her lips near his ear.

"Well, we could always practice." She whispered huskily, pulling back to look at him.

Her hair fell around them, creating a curtain that allowed some light to filter through, illuminating her features as she bent down without another word, kissing him deeply as her hands moved up to tangle in his hair.

Logan moved his hands down to her hips, trying to think for a way out of this situation. His body was screaming for her, and from her smile when she pulled back, she could feel it.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." She murmured, moving down to kiss his neck as her hands snaked up underneath his shirt, running over his stomach and slipping into the waistband of his jeans. He groaned slightly as her hands moved further south.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. If she had gone any further, it would have been his undoing. There would have been no turning back, and Logan's idea to wait to be with her until more of his memories came back would be thrown out the window.

Eva growled, sitting up quickly as she stalked to the door with a murderous look on her face.

Logan automatically got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her temple to try to calm her down. It felt like something he would do. She let out a heavy sigh, turning her head to smile at him before she opened the door. Logan didn't remove his arms from around her waist.

Storm stood at the door, stepping back slightly when the door suddenly swung open.

"The professor wants to speak with you, Eva." She said, looking between Logan and Eva. "I'm sorry if I…interrupted something." She blushed slightly.

"It's fine." Logan said quickly before Eva could speak. He turned her head and kissed her gently before she walked out the door.

When she looked over her shoulder at him, the look on her face said everything. She knew something was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N—Well, we finally get something from Eva's point of view! Might be a little sad, so I apologize. **

Storm and Eva walked down the hall, Storm chatting to fill the silence as they went along. Eva tuned out most of what she said as her brow furrowed.

Eva suddenly stopped, looking over her shoulder back down the hall. When Storm realized that Eva wasn't following, she stopped and walked back to her friend.

"Eva? Is something wrong?" Storm asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"Something is wrong with James. He won't tell me what." Eva frowned, looking down at her feet.

"Maybe he doesn't want to trouble you with it." Storm suggested.

"It's not like that. He's been acting strangely for the past few weeks."

"How so?"

"I don't think you want to hear."

"If you need to get it off your chest, I'll bear it." Storm smiled.

Eva sighed before she began to walk again. "Usually, Logan's…_appetite_…is even more than mine. He can't keep his hands off of me when we're alone most days. But now, whenever I try to initiate anything, he always stops it. He never does that."

"You were right. I didn't want to hear that." Storm shuddered, a frown on her face.

"Told you so. But even then, whenever I mention something that we've done, he has a confused look on his face. Like he can't remember…" Eva trailed, not even wanting to say it out loud.

"Can't remember what, Eva?" Storm asked.

"Like he can't remember anything about me. How we met, how we started dating, like he can't remember our entire relationship." Eva whispered.

"I doubt that, Eva. Logan loves you." Storm assured her, grabbing her by the upper arms and looking at her.

Eva averted her gaze and gently broke free of Storm's grip, walking ahead. "I don't know, Storm. It's like he can't even remember that. That morning, when he woke up late, he looked at me like I was a stranger." Eva wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing her eyes shut as she came closer to Professor X's office. A heavy feeling came over Eva's heart as she remembered the look on James' face. It was an ache, but not a good ache. It was as if someone had a hold of her heart and was squeezing it, filling her with despair until finally her heart shattered. James meant more to Eva than anything in the world. He was all she had, the one who truly understood what she felt. If she lost him…

"Everything will be fine." Storm told her as they reached the Professor's office. She rested a hand on Eva's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile before walking away.

Eva sighed and knocked on the door, entering when the Professor called her in.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked, sitting down in front of his desk.

"Yes, I need to ask you a favor." Professor X said, resting his chin on his hands.

"What kind of favor?" Eva asked warily, leaning away from him slightly. One of the 'favors' Professor X had her do ended her up in jail for three days with a prospective student. The only reason someone had realized something was wrong when she hadn't shown up for class the following Monday.

"I need help with the young girl. Lyla. She's refusing to speak to me or Jean. Anyone, for that matter. I think she might be willing to speak to you."

"Me? Why me?"

"She seemed very distraught when she hurt you. I think that if you speak to her and tell her it was just an accident that she'll open up."

"If you think it will help, then I will." Eva stood, sensing that the conversation was over.

"Thank you, Eva. She's in her room." He said, looking at some papers on his desk.

"Wait, you want me to talk to her right now?"

"Would you?"

Eva sighed, nodding as she pinched the bridge of my nose.

"You have something else on your mind." He stated.

"Nothing for you to worry about." Eva assured him, walking out of the office and putting up a mental block so he couldn't see what was actually wrong.

Eva released a breath she didn't know she was holding in when she was outside the office and the door had closed behind her.

Taking a deep breath, Eva climbed the stairs and reached Lyla's room, lingering outside, her hand casting a shadow as it hovered in front of the door. She knocked three times, dropping her hand and waiting for an answer.

She heard small footsteps coming towards the door, taking another deep breath before the door swung open to reveal a small, dark-skinned girl with curly brown hair. Lyla's deep brown eyes widened as she recognized Eva, a look of fear crossing her face.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked quickly.

"No, you're not." Eva told her, giving her a smile. "Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you."

Lyla hesitated for a moment before nodding, opening the door even wider and stepping aside so Eva could come in.

Eva thanked her and stepped inside, doing a quick onceover of the room. It was tidy, almost obsessively so. She didn't have anything that stood out to claim the room as her own. Most students had posters or other mementos decorating their room, but the only thing Eva could see was a ratty stuffed bunny sitting on the bed with half of one ear torn off and an eye missing, its fur matted from being loved for so long.

"Where would you like me to sit?" Eva asked Lyla, turning to her small host as the door closed.

Lyla wrung her hands, keeping her gaze fixed at her feet as she shrugged.

"May I sit at the desk?"

Lyla nodded, still not making eye contact with Eva.

As Eva sat down, she watched Lyla. She still hadn't moved from her position, not even looking up once Eva was sitting down.

"You're not in trouble, Lyla. I just wanted to come up here so I could talk to you." Eva assured her.

"I'm sorry." Lyla blurted out suddenly, her head shooting up. Her eyes were fixed on Eva's, and Eva could see tears in them. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I got scared. I didn't want you to take me away."

"Take you away where?" Eva questioned.

"To the institution. The orphanage kept threatening to tell the doctors I was crazy so that they'd send me away." Lyla whispered.

"Sit down, Lyla." Eva told her, leaning forward to rest her forearms on her knees.

Lyla complied, sitting at the edge of the bed near Eva, directing her eyes back towards her feet.

"I don't blame you at all for hurting me. I knew it was an accident the moment it happened." Eva said calmly.

Lyla looked up at her. "Really?"

Eva nodded. "I can't tell you how many times I accidentally hurt someone as I was trying to learn to control my powers. You shouldn't feel bad about it. It was an accident. It's part of the learning process. Professor X and all the teachers here can teach you how to control your power so you don't hurt anyone accidentally."

"Do you have powers like me?" Lyla asked.

"I don't think I do. But I can make things move with my mind. Mr. LeBeau has powers like yours. They're just a little different, but it's the same type."

"What are your powers?"

"I can control things with my mind and I heal very quickly." Eva explained, leaving out the more terrifying parts of my powers.

"How quickly? Can you show me?" Lyla seemed excited.

"Well, you only hurt me yesterday. And I'm on my feet now with no pain. For a normal person it would have taken weeks for them to even start walking with crutches. Maybe someday you'll get to see how fast I can heal."

"That big man is mad at me for hurting you." Lyla murmured.

"What big man?" I frowned.

"The one with the hair on the sides of his face."

"He's not mad at you. He was mad at another person. That man is my husband."

"He was yelling a lot."

"He just doesn't like it when I get hurt. He gets mad at me sometimes when I'm not careful and I hurt myself." I told her.

"So no one is mad?" She asked.

"No one is mad at you. We're just worried if you're doing okay. You haven't spoken since you've gotten here. We want to help you as much as we can."

"How can you help me?"

"Well, we can teach you how to control your powers. Then you won't hurt anyone accidentally. And you'll be able to go to classes like at a normal school."

"I'd like that." She whispered.

"Then we should go talk to the Professor and tell him that you're ready for training." Eva said, standing. She stood with me, and we walked out side by side. She still looked a little nervous, so Eva put an arm around her shoulders to reassure her. Lyla jumped slightly, looking up at the older mutant.

"It's going to be okay." Eva promised her, leading her to the Professor's office, knocking on the door when we got there.

Lyla grabbed Eva's arm around her shoulder as the Professor called her to come in.

"He's going to love you." Eva told her. "Just take a deep breath."

She did as she was told and walked inside, casting a glance over her shoulder before the door shut behind her.

Eva sighed, turning to go up the stairs to go to bed. Today had been too long, and she didn't feel like talking to anyone. Eva felt one of her "phases" coming on, as James put it. She could go for days on end without talking to anyone, and never feeling the need to talk to anyone. She would teach her classes and answer direct questions, but that was it. It was usually in these silent spells that Eva got the most work done. If someone wanted to talk to her during that time, they usually went through James. Everyone knew during these "phases" she would only speak more than one word answers to him. But now, she felt like she couldn't even talk to him.

When she got to their door, she lingered outside, debating whether or not she should go in or not. Deciding against it, she walked past, mounting the stairs up to the dusty attic and locking the door behind her. She absorbed herself in her books, wrote more tests for her classes, and practiced her knife throwing on a picture of Jean. When she finished her book, wrote the last question for her last test, and lost interest in destroying Jean Gray's face, she laid on the floor, staring up at the rafters of the old house. Her mind was racing. What was wrong with James? Everything had been fine just a few weeks ago, then one morning, he wakes up and acts like he can't even remember her.

Eva sighed and stood, walking over to her desk. She opened one of the top drawers, pulling out a cigar, cutting one end before lighting the other, taking a deep drag. She held the smoke in for as long as she could before letting it out through her nose. She didn't usually smoke. It was only when she was stressed. Her usual pack of 'stress cigarettes', as James fondly called them, were hidden in her underwear drawer. James was probably still in their bedroom, and she didn't feel particularly keen on seeing him when she felt like this. Cigars would have to do for now. She had to send her pipe out to get it fixed, and her tobacco had gone stale just a few days before that.

The door to the attic opened and Eva could hear someone with a light gait coming up the wooden stairs. She opened one of the windows and sat down in her desk chair, propping her feet up on the desk as she brought the cigar back up to her lips.

Eva could tell who it was after her visitor finally made it onto the actual floor. "What do you want, Klaus?" She sighed, blowing smoke at the ceiling.

"You said you wanted to go to mass for Holy Week. It starts in an hour." He said. Eva wasn't facing him so she couldn't see his face, but she could tell that it wasn't a pleasant one. He didn't like it when she smoked. Something about defiling the temple of God. She always pointed out that she couldn't do anything to her body that it wouldn't fix itself. He wasn't convinced.

"Crap, you're right. Are the kids ready?" She asked, grinding her cigar into the ashtray on her desk.

"They're waiting in the front hall."

"I'll be right there. Give me a few minutes."

A pair of feet came thundering up the stairs. She and Kurt turned at the both some to see Hank, looking thoroughly shocked about something.

"What's wrong?" Eva asked, standing from her chair.

"You need to come downstairs. Now." Hank said simply, giving her a look before walking back downstairs.

Eva and Kurt exchanged their own look before walking downstairs, following him into the TV room where C-SPAN was playing on the big screen. The entire team was assembled in the living room, staring at the television intently.

"What's going on?" Eva questioned, automatically standing next to James and crossing her arms.

"Something about a bill proposed in the Senate." He answered, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

"_In other news, a bill today was proposed in the Senate concerning the education of the growing number of mutant children in the United States. The bill proposes government institutions where mutant children will be educated until the age of twenty-one, until they are fully matured. This bill will attempt to deal with the problem of dangerous members of the mutant population, hopefully bringing the amount of mutant crimes down within the next few decades. The budget to build and maintain such schools will be taken from the defense budget. These schools will be under joint control of the Department of Defense and the Department of Education, reporting directly to their respective leaders, with reports being sent to both the President and the leaders of both houses of Congress._" The female reporter announced.

The entire team stared on in shock as the female reporter droned on.

"We need to go to the Capitol now." Hank announced, breaking the silence after a few minutes. "Someone get Jason on the phone. Jean, call Fiona and John. Ask them what they're doing to combat this."

"What's going on?" One of the older students asked, walking into the room. Eva thought her name was Ashley. She was one of Logan's students.

"Nothing to be worried about." Hank said quickly. "Go back to your studies, Ashley."

She frowned and crossed her arms, but walked out of the room.

"Who would even propose a bill like this?" Rogue demanded as Eva sat down next to her.

"_The bill was proposed by Senator Tyler Malone, a longtime defender of mutant rights. The bill he proposed comes out of left field for several members of both houses, surprised by the strict nature of the bill and how it takes away many rights granted to the mutant population of the United States_." The reporter said.

Eva went numb as she heard the name. Tyler. It couldn't be Tyler. It wasn't. He would never do something like that.

"Who is Tyler Malone?" Professor asked.

"He's not a mutant. Apparently he knew a mutant when he was younger and it affected him enough to work for mutant rights." Jean told him.

"Not anymore, apparently." Gambit grumbled.

Eva stood, walking out of the room and ignoring the team's calls to come back, mounting the stairs silently.

Eva heard someone come running up behind her, grabbing her hand to halt her ascent. She paused, her foot on the step above her. She could tell the hand on her wrist was James'. She knew his touch by heart.

James turned Eva around gently, resting his hands on her upper arms. "There has to be some kind of mistake." He murmured, pulling her towards him.

"No. There wasn't. I know that wasn't a mistake." Eva whispered, pulling away from him. "I need to pack." She told him, walking up to their room. Eva could hear James following her, quietly helping her pack when she pulled out a suitcase.

"Do you know how long you'll be there?" He finally asked.

"Probably until this session of Congress ends." She answered, looking up at him. "Can you get me my makeup bag in the bathroom?"

As he disappeared into the bathroom, Eva put her head in her hands, taking several shaking breaths until she felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders, gently kneading them. She automatically leaned back and rested against James's chest. "What did I do wrong?" She whispered, removing her hands from her face and craning her neck to look at him.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Something must have happened that he didn't tell you about." He told her, wrapping his arms around her. A sudden knock on the door made them both start, their heads snapping towards the door.

"Who is it?" Eva called, moving out of Logan's arms towards the door.

"It's Avery." A girl's voice called back.

Eva opened the door and rested a hand on her hip. "Avery. What can I do for you?" She asked, looking at her student.

"It's Driver's Ed tonight. We heard something about you having to leave, and I wanted to ask you myself."

"Crap, I forgot. I'm sorry, Avery. I have to leave for D.C. tonight."

"A few of us were watching C-SPAN on our phones." Avery said quietly.

"You don't have anything to worry about. We'll sort it out. I promise." Eva assured the girl, resting a hand on her shoulder. Avery nodded before bidding both of them good night and leaving.

Eva closed the door, turning back to James with a sigh. "Can't we just have an uneventful few years where the only thing we have to worry about is the students?" Eva grumbled as she packed a few more sets of clothing and the last few items she needed for the trip.

"That would be boring and you know it." James told her.

"Well, maybe the occasional threat that didn't involve having to play politics yet again."

"I'm coming with you all." Logan said, going into their closet.

"Really?" Eva asked as he emerged with a duffel bag in hand.

"Yeah. I don't want to be away from you for that long." He said, smiling at her.

She smiled back at him before she looked down, her smile falling when she remembered what had been going on the past few weeks. There was something wrong with him, and if she asked, she was sure he would deny it. Whenever she even hinted at it, he would always change the subject. What was he lying to her about? They never lied to each other.

"What's wrong?" He asked, making her look up. He frowned as he looked at her.

"Just worried." She said cryptically, thankful that someone knocked on the door at that moment. "Come in." She called, not caring who it was.

Storm entered the room, keeping her hand on the doorknob as she poked her head into the room. "Are you ready to go?"

"Not yet." James told her, moving over to their dresser and scooping up and armful of his clothes, shoving them into his duffel bag. "What?" He demanded when Eva gave him a look.

Eva only shook her head and turned back to Storm. "We'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Scott's getting the van ready. The Professor says be ready to leave in fifteen minutes."

"Roger that." Eva responded, turning back to her bag once Storm had left the room.

"I'll be right back. I need to talk to the Professor." James told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Evan let out a heavy sigh and packed her toiletries, zipping up her suitcase and packing the rest of James's things so they wouldn't be the last ones down. She hauled their bags on her shoulders, walking down to the van and throwing their bags into the back before settling into the backseat.

"You know, we're not leaving for at least another ten minutes." Storm said, poking her head into the car.

"That's fine." Eva responded, putting her earbuds in so she could think on the ride over to the private airport. She used her phone to send a quick email to all her students, sending them the lesson plan for the next few months and telling them to finish it at their own pace, but everything was still due on the day the plan said. Thank goodness for technology.

When James entered the car a few minutes later, Remy and Rogue had already taken the two spots next to her, so he sat directly in front of her. He looked nervous about something. Eva knew he had a fear of flying, but it usually didn't kick in until takeoff. This was something else. Her eyes narrowed before she turned her music to deafening levels, blocking out the chatter in the van when it finally began to make its way towards the airport.

Remy elbowed her a few minutes later and nodded towards the front of the van, where the Professor and Scott were sitting. "What's up?" She asked, pulling her earbuds out of her ears.

"Do you know anything about Senator Malone? You are in better contact with the members of Congress who support mutant rights than any of us." Professor Xavier asked.

"I've met him before, but I haven't spoken to him in several years." Eva responded.

"That seems odd. Fighting for mutant rights and he doesn't even bother to speak to mutants." Scott commented.

Eva ignored most of the conversation on the plane ride to D.C, partly because she was exhausted and partly because she wasn't in the mood. It was almost midnight when their plane finally touched down at the airport.

"I booked our hotel rooms while we were on the plane." Eva announced as they climbed into the waiting van. "Fiona and John are coming over tomorrow with their teams so we can talk about strategy. Apparently, it's a big shit storm on Capitol Hill because of this bill."

"Not surprising." Scott said.

The ride to the hotel was silent. Everyone found their rooms and went to sleep, forgoing any plan-making for the next day. If they wanted to get anything done, they needed a good night's rest.

Rest did not come for Eva. She lay awake that night, with James sleeping soundly beside her. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to come up with an idea to handle the situation with Tyler. Nothing was coming to mind, besides intimidation. Tyler didn't scare easily, and he wasn't easily intimidated. There wasn't much she could do. She had to think of something, though.

James rolled onto his back, his brows furrowing in his sleep. Eva looked over and sat up, watching him.

"Eva…" He muttered, jerking slightly.

Eva scooted closer to him, brushing some stray hairs from his face. "I'm here, James." She murmured, cupping his face with her hand.

He muttered her name again, louder this time. He must have been having a dream about her. From the look on his face, it wasn't a good dream.

James woke with a start, sitting straight up with a shout. Eva jumped back, hands up in shock as he breathed heavily, bare chest heaving as he looked over at her.

"Is everything alright?" She asked quietly, putting a hand on his arm.

His gaze fell to his lap as he rubbed his face roughly. "It's fine. Just a bad dream." He told her.

"You said my name while you were sleeping." She said matter-of-factly.

A look of fear flashed through his eyes as she spoke. "It's fine." He repeated, moving his legs over the bed to plant his feet on the floor, turning his back to her.

Eva sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I've tried to be understanding, James, but I've held my tongue for too long. I know something is wrong, and I don't know why you've been keeping it from me. We promised there would be no secrets between us, but from how you've been acting the past several weeks, something is going on that you're not telling me about. And I know it has something to do with our relationship. You've been acting strangely, you barely touch me or even let me touch you, and it's like we're walking on eggshells whenever we're together. I hate that something has come between us. You need to tell me what it is so we can move past this instead of ignoring that something is wrong." She told him.

When he didn't respond, she crawled to his side of the bed and sat down next to him, taking one of his hands in both of her own. "Please, James." She whispered.

"You wouldn't believe me." He responded lowly.

"At least tell me, and we can work from there." She responded.

He stood, pacing for a few seconds before turning to look at her.

"I can't remember anything."


End file.
